Pimientos del Piquillo
Spanish Tapas Ingredients
For your convenience we have collected a glossary of tapas ingredients and Spanish culinary terms. On this page you will find information on the Pimiento del Piquillo or Piquillo Pepper which is a very important ingredient in the Spanish Tapas Restaurant.
Pimiento, Pimenton or Guindilla?
In Spain, the family of peppers can be split into two main groups: "pimientos" and "guindillas".
The word "pimiento" generally refers to the sweeter and milder peppers - those that taste like bell pepper or paprika - while the word "guindilla" generally refers to the hotter kind of peppers.
Ground pimiento in dry powder form is called "pimenton".
Pimientos del Piquillo
For tapas the small cone shaped "Pimientos del Piquillo" are often used. These Piquillo Peppers taste absolutely great and are ideal for stuffing with meat or fish.
Pimientos del Piquillo, Canned.
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Pimientos del Piquillo, Uncanned...
This is the way these Piquillo peppers look like in the opened can. Prior to canning they have been roasted and stripped off their skin, and the internal white veins and seeds have been removed.
Don't worry about those little black spots, they are pieces of burned skin that got stuck to the peppers after roasting and give a nice sweet and smoky flavour to the peppers. Just brush them off before serving.
Canned Peppers or Fresh Peppers?
A whole range of canned pimiento peppers are available in Spanish supermarkets. These are ready for use and really quite tasty.
However, we realize that not everybody has ready access to a Spanish supermarket, and we must admit that fresh bell peppers or paprikas taste very good as well. It's just a matter of burning off the skin by roasting in the oven or grilling above an open flame.
So unless you need the small conical shape of the Piquillo pepper for stuffing purposes, roasted fresh bell pepper could certainly be considered as an alternative.
Pimientos Tapas Suggestions:
Basque Pintxo Recipe: Piquillo Pepper with Tuna Salad on Bread
Basque Pintxo Recipe: Paprika, Anchovies and Garlic on a slice of Bread
Other Beautiful Tapas Recipes:
